Elizabeth Engert Manzo

Elizabeth Engert Manzo is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and concentrates her practice in elder law, Medicaid and long term care planning, special needs trusts, wills, guardianships, estate planning and litigation, ERISA and employee benefits law.

Elizabeth Manzo is a shareholder of the firm of Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. She concentrates her practice in ERISA and employee benefits law, elder law, trust and estate planning, and estate litigation. In 2016 Elizabeth became a Certified Elder Law Attorney, recognized by the National Elder Law Foundation which is the only organization approved by the American Bar Association to offer this designation. Only 400 attorneys nationally have achieved the designation of CELA approved.

In the area of employee benefits, Elizabeth acts as legal counsel to the trustees for collectively bargained multiemployer (“Taft-Hartley”) benefit funds; primarily in the construction trades. In this capacity, Ms. Manzo has advised on matters involving ERISA compliance, fiduciary responsibility, legal standards for plan design, participation, benefit accrual, vesting, and funding as well as other implementation and administration issues impacting the tax qualified status of such plans. Ms. Manzo also serves by appointment from a national trade association as independent professional trustee, on the side of management, on several large multiemployer trust funds. Elizabeth also has experience in both the single and multiemployer plan arena, with U.S. Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service investigation and compliance issues, 401(K) plan mergers, prohibited transactions, and reporting and disclosure requirements. She is approved counsel for all fiduciary liability insurance claims with St. Paul Travelers and defends Trustees of both single and multi-employer plans before the United States District Court and investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.

As an elder law attorney, Elizabeth represents older or disabled persons and their representatives in financing long-term medical care, nursing home issues, qualifying for SSI, Medicaid and other public benefits, special needs trusts planning, and trust administration. She also advises on estate planning, estate and gift taxation, will contests and estate litigation, probate and estate administration as well as guardianship and conservatorship issues. Elizabeth has served as co-chair of the Elder Law Committee of the Union County Bar Association and as a member of the Elder Law and the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Sections of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

Elizabeth often lectures to civic associations and community groups on elder law, long term care planning, Medicaid eligibility / government benefits planning and employee benefits. She is a frequent presenter at the Annual Conference and multiple Specialized Conferences for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. She has lectured before the Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc., the MCA of NJ, Inc., the Union Affiliated Contractors of the National Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors, the National Electrical Contractors Association and National Asbestos Workers, as well as a number of hospitals, physicians groups and bar associations, for Professional Development/CME credit.

Elizabeth currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Enright Melanoma Foundation, and SarahCare Adult Medical Daycare Facility. She is on the Board of the Kean University Medallion Society Planned Giving Committee.

Elizabeth received a B.A. from Rutgers College in New Jersey where she graduated as a Henry Rutgers Scholar with high honors. She received a Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law where she was a contributor to The Seton Hall Legislative Law Journal and a legislative intern to the Office of the Governor’s Counsel. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Richard J. Hughes American Inns of Court. In 2009, she was recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of the top “40 Under 40” lawyers in the State of New Jersey for 2009 and in 2010 she was recognized by NJBIZ as one of its top "40 Under 40" list which recognizes men and woman across New Jersey’s business community for outstanding achievement.

Education

J.D., Seton Hall University School of Law, 1997cum laude

B.A., Rutgers College, 1994High Honors

Admissions

New Jersey, 1997

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2011

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1997

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

American Bar AssociationReal Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Committee on Special Needs Trusts, Medicaid and Long Term Care

New Jersey State Bar AssociationElder Law and the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Sections

We serve clients throughout New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania including: Union County including Westfield, Summit, Linden, and Cranford; Essex County including Newark and Livingston; Mercer County including Trenton; Middlesex County including Edison, Woodbridge, and New Brunswick; Monmouth County including Red Bank, Middletown, Eatontown, and Freehold; Morris County including Morristown and Parsippany-Troy Hills; and the cities of New York and Philadelphia.